2 convicted of murdering baby in Fort Valley shooting, prosecutor says

Two men were convicted of murder Friday and could face life sentences, three years after they allegedly killed a baby and injured his baby sister in Fort Valley, according to a Macon-area prosecutor.

Marcus Ball Jr., an almost-2-year-old boy, and Markailey Ball, his 1-year-old sister, were shot during “a reckless spray of gunfire through an apartment complex,” on July 20, 2022, according to a news release from Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita Howard. Markailey was shot and injured in the right shoulder. Ball was shot in the head and died, according to the district attorney’s office.

Gunshots were fired toward Building D in Lakeview Apartments in Fort Valley, Howard said.

“One of those rounds entered the bedroom of the children,” she said. They were shot while “in the arms of their teenage sister,” the district attorney’s office said on Facebook on May 2.

A Peach County jury on Friday found Jabari Thomas and Wontazious Bivins guilty of malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Bivins was also found guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A third person connected to the shooting, Christopher Alexander Miller, was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in May, according to Howard’s office.

Investigators faced challenges, including “reluctant witnesses” as well as officers who traveled from across Georgia to testify, and six officers who no longer worked for the initial investigating agencies, Howard said in news releases on Tuesday and on May 2.

“When innocent babies become victims of reckless gun violence in their own homes, my prosecutors will overcome the toughest challenges to secure justice ...,” Howard said. “I commend the courage of those witnesses who came forward to speak the truth and urge others to continue to do the same if faced with a similar situation.”

Thomas and Bivins are expected to get sentences at a later date.

They will “face the possibility of life imprisonment without parole,” Howard said.

Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Taylor Wilson, Assistant Assistant Deputy Chief Alveta Watkins and Micah Burdette, a three-year student law clerk, prosecuted the case.

This story was originally published August 12, 2025 at 2:24 PM.